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Stephan Franck's Palomino Gets Bloodier For Its Latest Volumes

Stephan Franck's Palomino gets bloodier for its latest volumes, with four and five on Kickstarter

Published Mon, 19 May 2025 12:58:08 -0500

Year after year, we check in with cartoonist, animator, writer, and director Stephan Franck's Palomino neo-noir graphic novel series, set in the lost culture of Los Angeles' country music clubs. But not for much longer, as Palomino is back for its fourth and fifth volumes on Kickstarter, jumping from neon-soaked 80s to grimy 90s. There will only be one final sixth volume to go.

"A captivating neo-noir crime mystery, PALOMINO begins in 1981 Los Angeles where we meet Eddie Lang, an old-school, hard-ass, hardboiled former Burbank PD detective juggling his 6-nights-a-week gig in the Palomino house band, his P.I. business, and Lisette Lang — his teenage daughter, who might be even more hard-ass and hard boiled than her dad is. But tragedy looms large over their past, and a brand new case that's hitting a little too close to home upends their lives, sending them each down very dangerous paths.

"PALOMINO: Volume 4 picks up with a 14 year time jump to 1995. The world has moved on from the unsolved Eileen Wilcox case, but Lisette — now 29 and going by Liz — hasn't. Still a hard-ass, and animated by a profound sense of justice that often puts her at odds with the world, Liz is a bit of a misfit who hates this new fangled thing called "e-mail", doesn't own a cell phone, and writes for one of the Valley's free weeklies. But when a routine assignment reopens old wounds and Liz takes it upon herself to revisit the case her father was never able to close, she finds herself entering a world of deception and danger — and the only way out is through."

"As PALOMINO time-jumps 14 years at the beginning of Volume 4, not only do we transition from the club's heyday to its twilight moments, but we also pass the baton from one detective to the next," said Franck. "At its core, PALOMINO is about the impermanence of all things we wrongly assume will always be there for us, as a society, as a culture, and about how the only thing that truly remains is the moral fiber of individuals, passed-down from one generation to the next. "

"Stephan Franck has worked with some of the most popular characters of all time—including Spider-Man and the Smurfs — and has contributed to classic contemporary animation projects, including Despicable Me, The Iron Giant, and Marvel Studios' What If…? as head of animation and director. But writing and drawing the graphic novel series PALOMINO is Franck's passion project. "From my years playing music in clubs, to having raised two amazing and quite hard boiled daughters in Los Angeles, many of my lived experiences converged in PALOMINO with my absolute passion for noir, to create the most personal and lived-in work of my career," added Franck."

"Told with action, suspense, humor, drama, and slice-of-life irony, PALOMINO, 1981 (Volumes 1-3) takes place at the Palomino club's high watermark, with Eddie leading the investigation in the Wilcox case, while PALOMINO, 1995 (Volume 4-6) takes place in the twilight years of the club, with Liz leading the case and bringing the story to its epic conclusion. The Kickstarter will feature copies of all five available volumes, as well as PALOMINO, 1981 box sets and slipcases, signed book plates from the in-world fictional syndication catalog of Lamaz Television, and other titles by Franck (including SILVER, ROSALYND, and ROMANCE IN THE AGE OF THE SPACE GOD)."

Stephan Franck's Palomino Vol 4 and 5 from Dark Planet Comics is currently available on Kickstarter

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